She was not as she seemed, and so much more
by Malloryendings
Summary: Wrote this up to flush out Daryl's character and voice. I like Daryl's grouchy but relaxed attitude and i wanted to try to do him justice. I may continue this depending on how well it is received. I love feed back, love, Love, LOVE IT!


Just a little short chapter from Daryl's perspective. May write more on this, but its only purpose was to work on capturing Daryl's voice and personality. I was trying to stay as close to Canon as possible.

He Aint never thought to be alone on the road with a leggy wide eyed blond. Weren't nothin to be too thrilled about neither. The damn girl was about as useful out on the road as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Before now he would never had the young Greene girl be his first pick for dodge ball. But after their first row in the Moonshine shack, he was seen her a bit different. His equal…but different. Truth was he had been seeing her different for a while now.

Beth was strong, just not in the physical sense. She looked for purpose in life, and was a fast learner. He respected her quick mind, since he had no patience to teach her anything twice. She also had a sharp catty whit that he relished. He aint never met a girl with Beth Greene's sunny sweetness and sharp tongue. Hell he'd known her for two years now and never picked up on her whit, until they lost everyone, sides each other. If he had known he might have tried to get to know her better sooner.

Might have been for the best that in the early days he had just wrote her off as a spoiled little blond bitch from the other side of the tracks. But then they left the farm and she showed them all she could help. She did most everything that needed to be tended domestically. Hell she had even stolen his vest and put a fresh stitch in the fraying shoulder seam. She put it back just as he was about to call her out on movin his shit. But then he realized she fixed it and he felt like an ass.

Her sorry wide eyes looked up regretfully at him. "Sorry Daryl…Just did not wish it to fall apart. Kinda like your second skin….keeps ya a layer safer."

Feeling strange remorse for his harsh words and he looked away from her and pulled the vest out to look. "Well it aint even straight..." He looked at her realizing how harsh he must still sounded and he changed his tone and words. "But it seems strong enough to hold." His voice gruff, but measurably softer to the ears. He gazed sidelong at her though his own hooded ones.

Beth blushed. "Yeah, well… Don't have the right needle… all I had was a small skinny one and it hurt my fingers to push it through the leather. It was hard enough to get the stich through, harder still to make it straight." She held up her hands looking at them absently. He noticed how red and bruised her fingertips were, and even some looked punctured. He turned toward her to take a look at her hand with his own he appraised them.

"Well hell, damn vest aint worth more than your fingers." He frowned at her his emotions turning cranky again, "fuck, whole place has gone to shit and you risk your fingers for my Hide?" he said holding his vest out in front of him for emphasis.

She cringed from his reaction. "M sorry Daryl. Won't touch your stuff every again."

Daryl stepped forward a little, getting right in her face. It would seem intimidating to her, but he just wanted to drive home his point, and be nearer to her. "Aint bout that." His voice higher. It reminded him of a fight between a wife and husband. He shook his head. "Its bout you needin your fucking hands girl. I don't want to see your hands looking like this again, ya hear?" he said motioning her to get on out of his cell. "Now git." She nodded and ran away.

Seeing her effort on his behalf he felt strangely humbled by her actions. Hell he had never done anythin for her. And she goes and injures her fingers over his god damned vest? Taint make a lick of sense to him.

That was the moment he started noticing Beth Greene. He knew she was young, and he felt dirty even entertaining thought on her. She must have been about seventeen or eighteen, and though he had noticed young girls her age before, he had steered well clear of them.

He knew she had been with the young kid Zach "the talker". Annoying little piss ant, who was actually a damn good shot. He felt instantly bothered whenever he saw Zach an her speaking. Puppy love made his stomach weak. Zach and Beth had traipsed about the prison for weeks actin like their love was a damn romance novel and it grated on him. But that all stopped when Zach died. He felt bad about that. Losing him was another point for the walkers, one less beating heart for their side. That and, he felt none too good about being the bearer of bad news, but he wanted to be the one to tell her.

She had been writing in her little notebook when he got back from the run. She was probably scribbling about the kid in them pages.

"Hey" her voice said cheerfully. Like she was happy to see him standing there outside of her cell like a creeper.

"Hi" his voice thick and constricted. She could sense his uncertainty and her face changed from happy to concern.

"What is it?" she had asked him.

And there she was direct and to the point. He sighed and looked down. "It's Zach." he brought his eyes back to see her face.

She looked around on her bed a moment, processing what he had just told her. "Is he dead?" she asked.

Daryl had found his mouth unable to form a reply. He just faintly nodded and looked down but they did not remain down.

"Okay," she shrugged as he saw her lip slightly form a pout, but then her face relaxed calming her forming emotion. He watched her move to sit up on the bed. Feeling mesmerized by her reaction he continued to stand there waiting, but for what? He was unsure. He knew now was the time to let her process her grief and bid her goodnight, but for some reason his feet would not move from that spot. His eyes drawn to her like a magnet.

He saw her move to her shelf and take a number off one or those high incident work place boards. The number was back to zero and he watched her turn to him in question. "What?" her voice soft.

He did not know what she was asking. Why was he still there? He just shook his head in response, unable to discern what she was asking of him. He had nothing to say. He did not know how to offer this girl comfort. He just found himself watching her face, and her big doe eyes.

"I don't cry anymore Daryl." She told him taking a step closer to him. She was now trying to assure him that she was alright. Her voice calm and measured. "I'm just glad I got to know him, ya know." She said walking right up to him.

He was slightly overwhelmed by her proximity that he found himself speaking uncertain. "Ya me too." That was bullshit, the kid annoyed the crap outta him, and he did not like him hanging around Beth. But regardless, did not want the kid dead. He just wanted to tell her something you're supposed to say when you lose someone. Whether it is true or not.

Her eyes flitted around and then back at him, she looked confused. Maybe she had been wondering why he was still hanging around outside her cell. "Are you okay?" she asked. She knew that him an Zach were not really all that close.

He looked down. He shook his head. "Jus tired of losin people, s'all." He replied with a shrug. Weren't really a good idea to tell her what was really going on in his head. He was still standin there just cause he liked lookin at her. She was by far the prettiest face he had seen since the dead did not stay down.

But then she moved into him for a hug and he was both unable to stop and did not wish to. He had not been touched by a woman in comfort in longer than he could remember and he just froze for a minuet absorbing the touch of another person. His hand found her elbow and he managed to half way reciprocate. Her head tucked under his chin and against him brought him warmth in his chest he was unaccustomed to feeling.

"I'm glad I didn't say goodbye. I hate goodbye's" she said into his chest.

He felt his throat constrict. "Me too," his voice thick as he watched her move away from him. He found himself under her penetrative stare. He knew she was unsure what to say to him so he shifted on his foot uncomfortably and cleared his throat. Watching her adjust her sweater that had fallen off her shoulder had him feeling very warm and he felt his feet free up from where they had been rooted. "I ugh… best wash up and eat." He mentioned. "Want me to send Maggie in here?" he asked.

Beth shook her head. "No, I just…" she sighed. "I will be fine." She blinked and looked back up at him and smiled sadly. "Thanks for being the one to tell me." She backed into her cell and sat on the bed."

He shook his head. "Weren't nothin." He nodded and pulled himself from her cell. He had wasted enough time on the girl. She was off limits, but at that moment he was entertainin some cozier thoughts about her bony limbs in his. She could do with a little more meat on her bones. He kept reminding himself she was too young and the daughter of one of the few men he had ever respected. That made her off limits to him.

He had kept away from her after that. Never went out of his way to talk to her again while at the prison. He saw to it that he was too busy than to linger inside the cell block where she most certainly was throughout the day.

But when the prison fell and they had been out there alone, he could not just avoid her. So he tried the next best thing, he ignored her. He had done it to keep her pissed off enough at him to stay back. He did not need the touchy feely shit out here where they had been surviving. That was till the moonshine shack. They both went through some heavy shit that night, and he found a respect for her that night as well. She proved to him that she could not just be ignored, would not just be brushed aside.

That night he had been a royal dick to her, and yet she still walkin beside him, an talkin to him. He admired her ability to put the past where is belonged. And focus on what was right in front of her. Its why she picked up trackin so quick. Beth Greene was not easily distracted.

He come out the prison with Beth and wound up tryin to be the man she thought he was. Even said he was. But it all made him confused. Them alone together an him changing because of her with no one else around got is mind going places he fought going only a matter of weeks before. His brothers voice would pop into his head from time to time laughing as he called him out for the pervert he was. "Oooh ee, you like em young, Guess the famous Dixon mojo is strong in you my boy!" he heard him laugh and nearly cackle gleefully. "Thought you only went for cougars and tall dark sheriffs. But now you are scoring in on a mighty fine piece my brother. Wish I was alive to take my share of that fine ass." Daryl never liked hearing his brother in his head as if he were alive. He could not just tell him to fuck off, cause he weren't even really there.

He never felt so lost till Beth was taken, he almost welcomed his brothers voice inside of his head then. That night he had been sitting at that kitchen table, comfortably with her. The only light a candle on the table. he had just made a decision to let her know what he was thinkin in regards to their future. Maybe settle in someplace, perhaps even there in that funeral home, and see if they had something between the two of them, if he ever got up the nerve to ask her.

But it had been too late. They should have left that house as quickly as they could. It never felt quite right, but that faith and good people Beth had been going on about had nearly got him convinced to have a little himself. But he had been right. The place was too good to be true. He paid for his negligence now. Beth was taken. And now he found himself really and truly alone.


End file.
